How to Speak & Write in Japanese

English speakers may have a hard time writing and speaking Japanese, due to its contrast with English. The written Japanese language uses a completely different alphabet, as well as pictograms. With pictograms, you have to learn a new "letter" for each word that you want to write. To further the confusion, Japanese grammatical structure is much different from English grammatical structure. Once you learn the basics, though, you'll be able to speak and write Japanese with ease.

Instructions

Speak

1. Place the verb at the end of the sentence. For example, in the sentence "Watashi ha ginko ni ikimasu" (I go to the bank.), the verb is "ikimasu." It can be difficult for you to grasp this, because you'll probably want to do a direct translation in your head first. Try to think of speaking like the character Yoda in the movie "Star Wars"---who would say "To the bank I go"---before you translate to Japanese.

2. Use the formal "-masu" verb ending. The Japanese language has many levels of formal and informal speech. As a foreigner speaking the language, it's always safest to use the most formal language to avoid offending anyone.

3. Choose the correct particles. Particles help you define the purpose of the word in a Japanese sentence. For example, you'd use "o" for the direct object, "ha" for the subject of the sentence and "ni" for the place you are going. Fortunately, when you correctly use the particles, you can arrange the sentence any way you like, as long as the verb is at the end. "Watashi ha ginko ni ikimasu" has the same meaning as "Ginko ne watashi ha ikimasu."

4. Ganbatte! In Japanese, that means "Do your best." When you're learning to speak Japanese, it's most important that you simply try. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Japanese people are quite appreciative when you try to speak the language and will forgive you if you make mistakes.

Write

1. Learn the correct stroke order for Japanese letters and words. Write Japanese words starting with horizontal lines from left to right, then vertical lines from top to bottom. Writing in the wrong order will make your words look slightly off.

2. Use the katakana alphabet when writing foreign words. Japanese has different alphabets for different situations. Use the katakana alphabet---not hiragana---for writing your name and for other words that have been adopted into the Japanese language from abroad,

3. Draw kanji whenever possible. Practice the kanji pictograms and use them when you know how to draw them properly.

4. Use hiragana for particles and when you don't know the correct kanji. Hiragana is a phonetic alphabet used for particles and Japanese words that don't have kanji. You can also use it when you don't know the kanji for a particular word.

References

• Shoko Hamano GWU